For many young hockey players coming out of the minor midget system and entering their junior eligibility at the age of sixteen, tough decisions can lie ahead.
If selected in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection following their minor midget season, the OHL is a legitimate option to continue their careers. But being selected is one thing, actually making an OHL team is another and an ill-conceived decision to go for it with the risk of falling short can hold serious ramifications for the future.
Other players, either those that were passed over in their OHL draft year or those who simply have their hearts set on playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, opt to maintain their NCAA eligibility by playing Junior A hockey in hopes of landing a scholarship to a Division I school. Attaining a scholarship though is anything but a guarantee.
While players consider themselves fortunate to earn legitimate interest from one of these paths, few players earn the kind of feverish interest from both paths that Mike Neville experienced as a sixteen year old playing in his rookie season of Junior A hockey with the St. Michael’s Buzzers in 2009-2010.
Selected fairly high in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection, a third round pick of the Erie Otters, Neville drew high praise from the Otters’ hockey staff as they were actively interested in having him join the organization in the future. On the other hand, the Woodbridge, Ontario native also drew consistent interest from a variety of top Division I NCCA schools, most notably from Brown University.
As a result, it goes without saying that Neville had a very difficult decision to make. Ultimately, that decision was made in mid February when Neville committed to join the Division I Brown University Bears beginning in the fall of 2011.
“It feels amazing; I was really grappling with whether to decide on the OHL or the NCAA but I feel that I’ve made the best decision for me and I’m happy moving forward,” said Neville. “The Erie Otters are a great organization and I thank them a lot for all of the interest they showed in me but I’m happy moving forward with the St. Michael’s Buzzers before moving to Brown University in 2011.”
Listed at 6’0” and 175 lbs, Neville has decent size but still needs to concentrate on adding more weight and muscle to his frame. In the end, the decision for Neville to opt for the NCAA came down to a less strenuous schedule of games which would provide more of an opportunity to develop physically with work off the ice.
“In terms of getting bigger and stronger, I feel that the NCAA, with fewer games in its schedule, you’re more in the weight room and you’re more out practicing, that kind of scenario will help me out a lot instead of the OHL where you play seventy plus games a season and it gets really strenuous in a lot of ways,” said Neville.
While some players bemoan the need to put in work off the ice, it is an area that Neville actually enjoys.
“In the summer, I’ll be working really hard in terms of gaining weight, getting stronger, getting faster and I honestly can’t wait now that I know I’m committed to Brown University,” explained Neville. “I know for sure that it’s something I’ve got to work on and it’s something I’m actually really happy to work on.”
In addition to the fact that Neville was very impressed with Brown University’s hockey program, the Ivy League education he will receive certainly was a motivating factor.
“First of all, it’s an Ivy League education, you can’t get any better than that, an Ivy League degree is just amazing,” said Neville. “The other aspect is that Coach (Brendan) Whittet and Coach (Jerry) Keefe, they’ve got something special going on at Brown right now and in the next coming years, there’s going to be a special team at Brown that hopefully I can contribute to and be a part of and hopefully we can do something good like an Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship or a Frozen Four appearance.”
After going to visit the Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island, Neville came away with a great impression after meeting some of the Bears’ current players and their coaching staff.
“The guys in the room were a really good group of guys and the coaching is a huge aspect,” said Neville. “I know my education at Brown will be taken care of but one thing at Brown that really impressed me was the quality of the coaching. Coach Whittet and Coach Keefe have come in and have done a great job so far and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
A strong player down low in zones and along the boards who also has tremendous speed, Neville believes the style of play in the ECAC will suit his style after taking in a few Brown University Bears games firsthand over the past year.
“I think I actually fit right in, it’s gritty, there’s lots of hitting, there’s a lot of down low play,” said Neville. “I think my game fits right in there in terms of the physicality aspect. I was really pleased with what I saw.”
Still a full season of Junior A hockey to play before heading to Brown University in the fall of 2011, Neville plans to use next season to continue to develop his size and to rediscover his scoring touch. While twenty two points in forty games is a solid output for a sixteen year old player, Neville feels he is capable of much more next year in his second season of Junior A hockey with the Buzzers.
“My size is a big factor; I’ve got to start throwing on a little bit more weight to try to get into the 190’s or to 200 lbs,” said Neville. “Also my work in the offensive zone as well, my defensive aspect of my game I think is really good but I think I’ve been a little bit snake-bitten offensively this past year. I feel that next year will really be a break out year in terms of offense for me though.”
